Merry Christmas
by Les Miserabby
Summary: Just some Enjonine fluff I wrote for Eponine T Daae for Christmas... two days late... and finished at 4:30 in the morning at which point I fell asleep... So hopefully it's not too cheesy but I have a really bad feeling... Anyway, merry Christmas!


Eponine groaned as she reached a hand over to turn off her alarm clock for the fifth time that day, determined to hit snooze again so she could continue to sleep, her face buried in her pillow as she groped for it, only to send it tumbling from the bedside table to her floor where it continued to beep.

She'd been at work at the bar until three in the morning, and hadn't gotten home and in bed until four-thirty, where she had promptly fallen asleep until the alarm had gone off the first time. The last thing she wanted was to get out of bed.

Cursing, she reluctantly pulled her head from her pillow and sat up, glaring at the spot on the floor where the alarm clock had fallen.

"I hate you," she growled at the inanimate object that was still determinedly beeping away. Her heart sank as she spotted the date on the calendar and the time on the clock. December 24th. 5:30pm. She was supposed to have been at the Cafe Musain with her siblings an hour and a half earlier.

Cursing even more, she dragged herself out of bed and down the hall to the kitchen.

"Gav?" she called, surprised her younger brother hadn't woken her up and dragged her out of bed. She found a note on the table.

_Eponine,_ the note read,

_I brought Gavroche to the cafe with me. I figured you needed the sleep. See you in a bit!_

_-Courf_

Of course Courfeyrac was looking after him. She smiled briefly before turning and heading back down the hall to the bathroom to shower, once again glad she had lost the month-long fight with Courfeyrac about them sharing an apartment. A fight that everyone in their crazy, messed up family of friends was certain would have continued if he hadn't used her brother against her, insisting he was more than capable of helping look after Gavroche, who absolutely adored him.

When they had first moved in together, Grantaire had mercilessly teased them about being a couple for a week – much to the obvious frustration of Enjolras – until he'd finally had no choice but to stop after seeing that their relationship was still no more than a very friendly platonic one, and that neither of the two had any sort of romantic feelings towards each other. Of course, Eponine's complaining about Courfeyrac having brought three different women home with him within the course of that first week probably had something to do with it.

She showered quickly before going back across the hall to her room, where she dressed in jeans and a long sleeved red shirt to cover her bruises before rushing to brush and dry her long raven hair, desperately hoping that she would at least look decent in comparison with Musichetta and Cosette.

Frustrated, she directed another scowl at her alarm clock, which continued to beep away on the floor. "This is your fault," she muttered, not sure why she was blaming the clock when it was technically her fault for continuing to hit snooze rather than drag herself out of bed to join her friends.

Placing her beloved old cap on her head, she finally retrieved the accursed clock from where it lay on the floor and finally turned the alarm off. It was a quarter after six. She was over an hour late. Sighing in exasperation, she pulled on her coat and wrapped a scarf around her neck before grabbing her bag to head out of the apartment, hoping her friends wouldn't mind if their gifts were a bit late this year. Again.

"Eponine! We were wondering when you'd make it!" Cosette exclaimed as Eponine found herself suddenly engulfed in a tight hug from the bubbly blonde.

"I kind of slept in, I had a rough night at work," Eponine explained as she got free of the other woman, suppressing the involuntary surge of resentment towards the girl who had had her life handed to her on a silver platter the moment she had gotten away from Eponine's family. While they were good friends now, Eponine still felt a sharp twinge of jealousy towards the blonde. Especially where Marius was concerned.

"Again?" Enjolras asked, barely looking up from his notebook.

Eponine shrugged, hoping they wouldn't question her too much. "It happens-"

"A little too frequently, if you ask me," Cosette mused from where she had perched herself on Marius' lap. "Don't you agree, sweetie?" she cooed, playing with her boyfriend's hair.

"Mhm," was Marius' only response.

Eponine resisted the urge to vomit at the sight, and quickly looked away, only to be greeted by the sight of Joly and Bossuet both fawning over Musichetta, which she immediately decided was not much better than the original view. As she turned back and saw Cosette feeding Marius gumdrops, however, she decided that maybe it had been an improvement after all. She quickly went back to the conversation.

"Sorry, but your gifts are going to have to be late again this year, I haven't had the money-"

"What on Earth are you talking about, Ep?" Grantaire asked, looking up from his beer bottle for the first time. "None of us expected you to get us anything after all you do for us already."

"Not to mention you're still trying to get back on your feet, it would be ridiculous for you to spend anything on us," Combeferre put in. "Don't worry about it."

"And while we're on the topic of you and money, for the millionth time, stop trying to pay half our rent," Courfeyrac added. "I told you, it's all on me for the first few months."

"But-"

Cosette silenced her with an icy glare, a rare expression for the usually cheerful blonde. "You had a rough year, 'Ponine, and we all know it. Stop worrying about us all the time and let us all put you first for once. You do enough for us, so just leave it, OK?

Desperate for someone, anyone to back her up, she turned to the one person in the room who didn't seem to be against her on the topic of Christmas gifts. But Enjolras appeared to have ignored the conversation entirely after his initial comment, and was still focused on his notebook. She settled for changing the topic instead.

"Enj, do you ever focus on anything other than your work?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

Enjolras' only response was to frown at his notebook.

"Come on, lighten up for a change, you work too much," she tried.

"I have my reasons," he replied, not bothering to elaborate.

"Don't bother wasting your time with him, Ep," Bahorel said, slipping an arm around her shoulder in a friendly half-hug. "It's Enjolras, he doesn't know how to have fun."

Eponine half expected a snide remark from the marble man in response, but Enjolras neither said nor did anything, save for continue to frown at his notebook.

After several hours, only Eponine and Enjolras remained in the cafe, Eponine half asleep on a couch after turning down several offers for rides, Courfeyrac having taken Gavroche back home more than an hour earlier, and Enjolras still frowning at his notes.

"It's after midnight now, it's probably time to go," Enjolras muttered, getting up.

"Hmm, I'm too comfortable," Eponine mumbled in response, burring her face in the couch cushions. Enjolras didn't respond, and Eponine thought he would leave her there. She was proven wrong when she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her and lift her up.

"Hey!" she protested weakly, squirming slightly.

"Time to get you home-"

"I don't wanna go home yet," she mumbled, resisting the urge to bury her face in his chest. It was Enjolras, the marble lover of liberty. He had no interest in a relationship with anyone who was an actual person, least of all _her_.

But more importantly, why was she suddenly thinking of a relationship with him?

"It must be the alcohol," she mumbled sleepily.

"Hm?"

"Nothin'," she mumbled, her face suddenly pressed against his chest. She felt oddly warm and safe in his arms, and she couldn't deny that he smelled nice.

Enjolras sighed, and Eponine felt her heart skip a beat as she felt his chest move with his breath. It had to be the alcohol. It had to be!

She'd never been attracted to his angelic face before, nor had she ever yearned to be in his strong arms. But suddenly, inexplicably, she was.

And she didn't mind. She found that she wanted to stay in his arms, and sh realized then that if her heart ended up being broken by him, she wouldn't mind. He wouldn't be rejecting her in favour of another girl. Just a country. And somehow, she doubted that would hurt as much.

Especially since the attraction was just the alcohol. Wasn't it? She'd never really felt anything towards him. Had she? Her teasing over the years had just been teasing, hadn't it?

"It has to be the alcohol," she muttered into his chest.

"What about the alcohol?" Enjolras asked, and she smiled despite herself as she felt the vibrations of his voice through his jacket.

"Nothing," she mumbled again.

"You must be really tired, you didn't even drink that much," Enjolras muttered as they reached the door.

Dammit, he was right. She'd only had two, maybe three beers over the several hours she'd been at the cafe with her friends. She couldn't blame the alcohol too much... Did she actually have feelings for him?

"Do you think you can walk home?" Enjolras asked suddenly. Eponine hesitated a few moments. She didn't want to leave his arms, she felt so warm and safe there. But at the same time, she felt she should.

"Yes," she said quietly, regretting it almost instantly as he set her down.

"Come on, let's get you home," he said, opening the door. "You need rest."

"No I don't," she lied, simply to be argumentative. She knew he was right, but she did _not_ want to agree with him.

"Yes you do," he replied, wrapping an arm around her waist as they left the Musain.

Eponine stifled a yawn as she rested her head on his shoulder while they walked. She was sure that if she looked at him, he would be smirking. She hated his smirk, his handsome face looking so smug.

"I do not," she muttered defiantly.

"Whatever you say," he replied, half-laughing, making her want to smack him.

"Why do you have to do that?" she snapped suddenly as they arrived at the apartment she shared with Courfeyrac, which was just down the street from the cafe, making Enjolras freeze and look at her.

"Do what?" he asked, looking confused.

"Be so perfect!" she replied. Enjolras blinked, clearly stunned by her outburst. "And annoying at the same time," she added quickly, determined not to leave him with a simple compliment.

Enjolras didn't reply, he just looked at her, completely confused.

"Just forget it," she muttered, moving to open the door to the building, but Enjolras grabbed her arm, making her freeze as her heart skipped a beat.

"Did I do something to upset you?" he asked, concern evident in his clear blue eyes.

Eponine simply stared at him, unsure of what to tell him. As she gazed at him, she realized there was a lot she wanted to tell him. So much more than she had ever thought.

"You never seem to notice me!" she exclaimed, seeing for the first time what had truly been hurting her all along. "You're always so nice to me, but at the same time you never seem to see me, not really. Not the way I want you to!"

Enjolras was clearly taken aback by her revelation, but she wasn't surprised, since she was as well. Had she really been so good at hiding her feelings that she hadn't even noticed herself?

"But- I thought- Marius-" he spluttered. "You always seemed to want him."

"I never did! Not really. I just never realized..."

"Realized what?" Enjolras asked. Eponine almost rolled her eyes at him. Was he really so oblivious?

"All along, it was never really him," she admitted to herself as well as to him. "It was always you."

"You- what?" Enjolras stared at her as if she had just insisted that France was ruled by a talking flamingo. She felt her heart sink in her chest. She was making a fool of herself. He would be laughing at her any second.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what I'm even thinking, I should just go-" She started to turn and go inside, but Enjolras stopped her, grabbing hold of her arm once again.

"Wait, what are you saying?" he asked, regaining his composure.

This was it. It was all or nothing. She had already more or less made a fool of herself, she may as well just keep going.

"I didn't realize it until tonight... I thought because of your obsession with justice and stuff you wouldn't be interested, so I just focused on Marius instead... I- I-" She swallowed before continuing, willing herself to keep talking. "I think I love you..." she finally managed to say, forcing herself to look him in the eyes as she said it. Enjolras stared at her in shock.

"You- what?" he asked again.

"I think I love you," she said again, still managing to meet his gaze.

Enjolras continued to stare at her blankly.

"I- I have to go," she mumbled, turning and walking away as he released her arm. "I'm sorry." She had only gone about a meter before a word made her stop.

"Wait."

At the sound of Enjolras' voice, she turned to look at him. "Yes Enjolras?" She trembled a bit as she looked at him.

"Do you really mean that?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," she whispered, and suddenly she was back in his arms and Enjolras was kissing her. Her heart pounded in her chest, and Eponine was sure that he could hear it. His lips were soft and warm, and, she realized, everything she had ever dreamed of. Her arms quickly slipped up to wrap around his neck as his arms wrapped around her waist.

The kiss was far too short for her liking, but his next words made up for it.

"I've always noticed you, but thought I didn't stand a chance because of Marius." He smiled at her, and she felt her heart flutter in her chest. "I love you too."

From the look in his eyes, she knew he meant it, and without a moments hesitation she quickly kissed him again, not caring that in the morning she would feel ridiculous for not having taken the risk sooner and having spent two years longing for Marius when all along the man she had really loved had felt the same way.

All that mattered to her then was that Enjolras was there, and he loved her, and because of him, Christmas was truly merry for the first time.


End file.
